Comware

Does a 4500G cluster support creating port groups using ports on different switches in a cluster ?

I want to have a host Ethernet connect to different switches for redundancy.

This message was edited by rvincenty on 10-8-09 @ 1:10 PM

Hi.



No. The 4500G stacks or clusters don't supports distributed link-aggregation. A few weeks ago I faced the same problem when implementing 4500G stacks. I've tried to setup MSTP, it works well initially; but when one of the links is disconnected and then reconnected the stack doesn't converge, it lost connectivity and just after 30~40 seconds it came up again.



You can use link-aggregation connected straight to the master switch; this was the better way I found to provide resilience and stability to the stack.



Regards

What I am looking for is Link Aggregation for Hosts. Connecting each Ethernet port on different switches.

Since the 4500G does nos support distributed link aggregation, you cannot connect links distributed in the stacked switches, even when connecting hosts.



Regards.

This message was edited by Fred_Mancen on 10-15-09 @ 1:56 PM

That is right, 4500G's master/slave stacking model wont support distributed link aggregation(DLA).



Since we are talking about servers, alternatively, you could bridge your two network cards(if we are talking Windows).



I believe gnu/Linux's bonding feature has an operational mode setting that wont rely on LACP and that is specifically used when there is no support from a switch. (its called balance-alb).

I can not predict what would happen if you used that mode on your stack.



Either way, it wouldnt be seen by the stack as single logical unit. =-z

Can you tell me if the A5120's or A5500's support Distributed Link Aggregation?  I'm having a devil of a time finding clear specifications on them.  My thoughts are to connect the switches via an IRF/XRN link and use distributed link aggregation to connect to my ISCSI storage array.

#A5120A5500IRFDISTRIBUTEDLINKAGGREGATION

Yes, both A5120 and A5500 supports DLA.